The final product of my project did match the original idea I had I mind. The colour scheme fitted the exact idea I had, making it relate to the latest expansion of using the colour green with a dark background to really make it stand out. The images were all related and fitted well too which also matched the original idea. The only things that didn’t match my original idea was the layout of the review and feature; they look a bit bland and basic when I did have some sort of layout planned to make it look more interesting which I ended up failing to do.

The methods I used on this project was firstly to use Photoshop to create the front cover and experiment with certain layout designs, moving things around, different images and fonts. I also used some techniques to change the colour of the backgrounds on InDesign by playing around with the layers and schemes as well as setting out images in certain orders in front and behind text.

My magazine compared to the professional magazine doesn’t look too bad however could still use a lot of work. The cover is direct and sends a clear image towards the individual like a professional magazine would. The contents page is laid out in a certain way to show where everything is clearly as well as clear advertisements to Blizzard’s other games also like a professional magazine. The review and feature however are still very basic in comparison to the professional magazines and could of done with better images and needed more planning to look better. I did try to follow a typical gaming magazine style and did pull off some things, but due to being a bit unfamiliar with the program, I was unable to create the magazine fully to the image.

The main pursuit of the magazine was to celebrate World of Warcraft’s 12th anniversary of being live as a somewhat special type of magazine in a form of entertainment. I do believe I achieve this by adding content in the magazine that any WoW player can relate and enjoy while being informative and detailed.

I do think that I have gained more confidence in using Photoshop in the terms of editing colour schemes and the basics. I am also now a bit more familiar with InDesign due to starting with this project with the faintest memory of how to use it.

If I could change anything about this project it would be the layout of the review and feature as to me, it looks too basic and simple. I think I could have improved the quality of the magazine as a whole however by simply taking more time to plan and practise using the program that I was unfamiliar with.

The sources of information I gained for this project was firstly YouTube to gain some basic knowledge on how to use InDesign. I watched a few tutorials and followed some online guides to show me what steps I needed to take to get the default basic layout of any magazine and how to customize it to fit my certain style. I also gained information about what to write in my feature by looking at websites with the history of the game with accurate dates to use. I also did a poll to gain information about the type of people in my social group that use magazines in their lives which helped me gain an idea of my target audience, especially when I looked into the demographics of my chosen topic.

My time management for my pre-production went well. It was all on time and followed the schedule that we set for ourselves on time to a high quality. The production stage was a bit slow due to not knowing really how to correctly and promptly use InDesign however was created in time. The post-production however fell behind slightly due to lack of access to software to reflect and quote previous work as well as being a bit behind on the production stage held me back a bit near the end.

The design I was going for was a magazine that when you saw it, you would immediately know that it was about World of Warcraft.It was created in a way that could reflect on its latest expansion as well as show informative and create articles inside that any sort of WoW player would enjoy which I felt, content wise, I met the goal. Again, I do think that the actual design and layout of my project could of been improved and met a higher standard however due to not knowing the software too well this was limited.

I believe that my magazine is going to be appropriate for my targeted audience due to it being created specifically for them as a special edition release. It has everything that a WoW player would look for as well as making it special to celebrate it’s 12 year anniversary. The only complaint I can think of to make this more enjoyable for my targeted audience is to make it slightly more interactive so they feel that they are more a part of the celebration.